{"id":1967,"date":"2018-07-27T22:04:05","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T22:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/?p=1967"},"modified":"2021-02-17T22:08:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T22:08:40","slug":"july-zhou-ming-made-modern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/27\/july-zhou-ming-made-modern\/","title":{"rendered":"July Zhou: Ming Made Modern"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artist July Zhou<\/a> was born during China’s last civil war. A child of two creatives, he always knew he was meant for a life in the arts.\u00a0But his plans were derailed by a country in political turmoil. During what came to be known as The Cultural Revolution, it was common for intellectuals to be arrested and sent to labor camps. July was jailed for nearly 11 years\u2014as an alleged revolutionary. While imprisoned, he became a surgeon\u2014stealthily decorating the pages of his surgical texts in an effort to maintain an artistic connection. After surviving two death sentences, July was freed in 1977, and began pursuing his dreams in earnest.<\/p>\n

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A collection of July Zhou furniture<\/a> at PAGODA RED<\/p><\/div>\n

Over the years, July enjoyed a celebrated career as a screenwriter and filmmaker, before trying his hand at advertising, and then record making. A stint in research and development for a plastics manufacturer connected him with the material that would become his new creative medium:\u00a0Lucite.<\/p>\n

“Maybe because I learned visual art when I was little, as soon as I started working with industrial plastic material, I began to think how I could use contemporary industrial material to make art pieces,” he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Mirage Stool by July Zhou<\/a>\u00a0| Dia: 21.25″ H: 19.5″<\/p><\/div>\n

At 60 years old, the artist is passionate about creating modern, innovative furnishings inspired by historically significant masterworks.<\/p>\n

“I love the furniture style from the Ming Dynasty,” explains July. “Its simplicity and unique classic style cannot be imitated. But how to revitalize Chinese traditional furniture\u2014and fashion it with contemporary characteristics? It is a real challenge.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Mirage Stool<\/a> by July Zhou at PAGODA RED\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

Working with Lucite, July began designing limited edition handcrafted furniture inspired by the Ming forms he so revered. The below table was hand-painted to mimic a piece found in Beijing\u2019s Summer Palace\u2014an imperial residence\u00a0with splendid halls, gardens, and sumptuous pavilions. In ancient China, altar tables were used to hold musical instruments, and to display precious items of spiritual significance.<\/p>\n

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Summer Palace Altar Table by July Zhou<\/a>\u00a0| W: 64.5″ D: 18.0″ H: 34.75″<\/p><\/div>\n

While most Lucite furniture is injection molded, July’s work is created in concert with a group of skilled artisans who thermoform and bend, then hand-carve and polish each piece.\u00a0Years of practice and experimentation enable the team to conjure the time-honored beauty of Ming designs, free from the trappings of conventional materials.<\/p>\n

“We are very much like a traditional family style workshop,” explains July. “We understand each other because we are all craftsmen.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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A collection of furniture pieces by July Zhou<\/a> at PAGODA RED\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

At PAGODA RED, we deeply appreciate July’s work, and see it as an outstanding example\u00a0 of the wave of innovative design emerging from modern day China. His Invisible Administrator’s Chair<\/a> (pictured above, left) is heavy and precisely hand-joined\u2014as though carved from a single block of material. Each limited edition piece is signed and numbered\u2014further merging the worlds of fine art and furniture making.<\/p>\n

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Blue and White Invisible Table<\/a> by July Zhou PAGODA RED<\/p><\/div>\n

As with his other works, July Zhou’s Blue and White Invisible Chairs<\/a> are fashioned after significant Ming examples. The hand-painted blue and white porcelain joints are fired in imperial kilns.<\/p>\n

“In recent years, creating artistic transparent furniture has become the major part of my life,” explains July. “60 years, after so many stumbles and setbacks, finally, I seem to have found the road leading to my childhood dream. Life is so wonderful!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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July Zhou<\/p><\/div>\n

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<\/h2>\n

Explore More<\/h2>\n

Shop Furniture by July Zhou<\/a><\/p>\n

Located in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago, our dynamic 15,000 square-foot gallery is always changing. Storied furniture, fine art and extraordinary objects from around the world are waiting to be discovered.\u00a0We invite you to experience the spirit of PAGODA RED online or in our gallery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artist July Zhou was born during China’s last civil war. A child of two creatives, he always knew he was meant for a life in the arts.\u00a0But his plans were derailed by a country in political turmoil. During what came to be known as The Cultural Revolution, it was common for intellectuals to be arrested […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nJuly Zhou: Ming Made Modern - PAGODA RED Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/27\/july-zhou-ming-made-modern\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"July Zhou: Ming Made Modern - PAGODA RED Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Artist July Zhou was born during China’s last civil war. 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